As recently as a year ago, there were still some question marks surrounding Jannik Sinner and his path to greatness. His shotmaking abilities have always been stupendous and he had gradually morphed into one of the best athletes of his generation. However, he was still struggling to handle the physical and mental challenges of the sport. He was hustled out of the fourth round of last year’s US Open by Alexander Zverev, his body betraying him.
Sinner ends his stay in New York this year having established himself as the inevitable, dominant force on hard courts. The No 1 out-hit, outworked and ultimately outplayed Taylor Fritz, the 12th seed, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 – despite a rousing late resurgence from the home favourite.
Along with becoming the first Italian man to win the US Open, Sinner is just the fourth man to win the Australian and US Open titles in the same year since both tournaments were held on hard courts from 1988. He is also in the process of piecing together one of the greatest breakthrough seasons of the 21st century outside of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Sinner is now 55-5 in 2024 and an imperious 35-2 on hard courts, having won six of his 16 career titles this year.
The 2000s generation, meanwhile, continues to rise to the summit of men’s tennis. In the first year since 2002 that none of the big three have won a grand slam title, Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have split the slams between them, shutting out the rest of the tour. While still at the very beginning of their careers, Sinner and Alcaraz have now won six major titles between them. With one major title each, Dominic Thiem, who retired from grand slam competition at this event, and Daniil Medvedev remain the only players born in the 90s to win a grand slam title.
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Less than four weeks ago, Sinner announced that he had twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol in April before an independent tribunal ruled that he bore no fault or negligence for the presence of the substance in his body. The week before the tournament was rife with both public and private discussion from players, with some believing the tennis anti-doping rules as unequal, particularly since Sinner was able to successfully appeal his initial provisional suspension and continue playing without disclosing the positive tests.
Having competed each week despite the uncertainty surrounding his impending court date, which took place in London during the Cincinnati Open last month, which he won, Sinner noted that he felt relief after receiving a favourable result and the news being made public. Even though he has not always produced his highest possible level in New York, he has performed at an astonishing level in all of the decisive moments.
Two nights earlier, Fritz could barely hold back tears as he became the first American man to reach the US Open final since Andy Roddick in 2006. Fritz’s breakthrough run remains a massive achievement, underling his drive, work ethic and particularly his toughness as he made sure it was he who took advantage of a wide-open bottom half of the draw.
As he walked on to Arthur Ashe Stadium again, his issue was fairly simple. He was facing off against a better athlete, returner and overall tennis player who also happens to be in the form of his life.
Even as Fritz shook off his early nerves and attempted to force himself to take the first strike, the contrast in athleticism was particularly stark. Sinner’s ability to slide into balls perfectly balanced, counter with depth and then recover is second only to Djokovic and he defended tremendously throughout the match. When Fritz was dragged out wide, however, the point was over.
Sinner’s combined depth, weight and pace of shot was dominant enough, but he also chose his moments to inject immense pace into rallies at will. Fritz was well beaten in the opening set as Sinner broke his serve again to close it out 6-3.
In stark contrast to losing his serve three times in the opening set, Fritz was able to build rhythm on his serve and both players moved through the second set with confidence. But at the first hint of scoreboard pressure, 5-4 to Sinner on Fritz’s serve, Sinner locked down his game. He landed ample returns, he maintained immaculate depth and his excellent defence led to Fritz overhitting, his errors piling up. On set point, Sinner infused a backhand down the line with a sharp injection of pace and the set was over.
Just as Sinner seemed to be making his move at 3-2 in the third set, Fritz found a second wind. As Arthur Ashe practically shook, Fritz produced his most devastating stretch of attacking tennis to save the break point and establish a 5-3 lead. As has been the case throughout the tournament, Sinner raised his level in the pressure moments, calmly unravelling Fritz’s advantage by winning the final four games of the match and closing out his second grand slam title. There will be more to come. – Guardian
